Just Before the End
by phanthom theif kid
Summary: An unexpected ninth human falls into Mount Ebott, right after Frisk begins to cut a dusty swath across the underground.


**Here's another story. Don't expect me to continue to be this productive.**

 **Believe me, I'm surprised too.**

 **This is basically a little AU I thought up one time and I'm deciding to explore further. Doubt it'll be very long but that just means I might actually finish something for once.**

 **Anyway, without further ado, here you go.**

* * *

All was quiet in the ruins. Granted it was usually pretty quiet there, but lately the typical ambient sounds of the locals going about their business had completely vanished.

Until a human child landed face first in a patch of flowers, of course.

The human laid there for a while, before eventually checking their body over and pulling themselves to their feet.

"H... Hello?" They called out shakily.

No answer.

They were in a dark cavern, with a thin shaft of light shining from the peak of Mount Ebott. A bit of feeling along the walls revealed a dim hallway off to the right. Seeing no other options, they took it.

The hallway led to an oddly conspicuous section of ground with another shaft of light shining on it. The human leaned closer to examine it when a flower popped out of the dirt, somehow smiling.

"Er... Howdy!" The flower said. "Didn't expect anyone to be here... Anyway. I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower."

"Um... Hi. Listen, have you seen a kid in a striped shirt? Squinty eyes, messy hair, never says a word?" The human asked hopefully.

Flowey stopped for a bit before answering. "Hm? Yeah, I think I saw someone like that ahead. If you're worried about them, don't! They seem like they can handle themselves down here juuust fine." He winked.

"Um... Sure, thanks. I'll just be going then." The human said, edging his way past the flower.

"No problem!" The flower said as the human left. He snickered as he watched the human walk away, then headed off towards Home.

"... See you later."

The ruins were very... purple.

Aside from that, there was very little of note. Well, aside from a few cryptic notes and some buttons and levers that had already been activated. Presumably they were the reason for all the open doors.

And the occasional piles of dust.

Sure, some dust was expected. These were certainly ruins, and presumably they hadn't been occupied recently. It's not like anyone went around intentionally building ruins. But this was an excessive amount of dust. No ordinary dust collected into piles, leaving the rest of the floor completely bare.

Eventually, upon examining a rather disorderly pile, the human found a set of dusty footprints that seemed about Frisk's size. Feeling a bit optimistic, they followed them and eventually reached a small and cheery house with a withered tree in front of it. The door was open.

Not wanting to intrude, but not finding a doorbell, the human called out.

"Hello...? Anyone there?"

After waiting a few moments, and getting no response, the human decided that the house must be abandoned and decided to go in.

It was immediately obvious he was wrong. A fire was burning in a fireplace near the entrance, somehow burning without emitting smoke.

Wanting to intrude as little as possible, the human resisted the urge to explore further and followed the trail down the staircase near the entryway.

As they left, the fire flickered and flared up for a moment before puffing out of existence.

They emerged in a long and narrow tunnel, somehow seeming even more cavelike than the ruins above. As they neared a left turn in the tunnel, they began to hear a strained voice...

"Y... you... really hate me that much?" The voice wheezed. "Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you there. Not you... But them! Ha... ha..."

The human, overcome by a sense of dread, peeked around the corner, pulled back, and barely surpressed a scream.

They had seen Frisk, holding a knife handle. The blade, assuming one was attached, was buried in the chest of a... Well, the human wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it looked like a... Goat person.

Logically, that meant that Frisk had stabbed this strange creature, but that couldn't be true. Frisk was literally incapable of hurting flies. They were the one that was constantly releasing wayward bugs outside. They once tripped over an anthill and held a tiny funeral for all the equally tiny lost lives.

But this... This wasn't normal.

They peeked around the corner again only to be met with the view of their friend, clutching a knife and staring directly at them. Frisk's face, usually fairly passive, was cold, sizing up the human, assessing the danger they posed. After entirely too much of this, Frisk turned and left without a word.

The human started breathing again. They hadn't realized that they'd stopped.

They took a moment to regain their bearings. To distract themselves from the memory of Frisk acting so... Off. Perhaps that odd creature was still alive...?

Where the goat had been kneeling, there was nothing aside from a simple purple dress and a pile of dust.

And a small, glowing point of light.

Discomfort giving way to curiosity, the human crouched by the pile and began sifting through it, trying not to think about the fact that these were probably that poor creature's remains. Before too long, they found a heart.

Not a biological heart. A literal glowing heart-shaped mass of... Something. It didn't seem to be quite three-dimensional, as looking at it from every angle gave the same view. Noticing its glow was steadily dimming, the human cupped their hands underneath it and brought it to their face for a closer look.

The strange object apparently had other ideas, however, and darted directly into their chest.

The human tensed up, expecting something incredibly dramatic to happen, and was slightly disappointed when they felt a bit warmer and a slight tingling sensation.

Until the tingling began to spread and intensify, at which point they immediately wished they could take it back.

The tingling gave way to a buzzing as it reached their arms, and a thunderous crackle at their head. A stabbing headache emerged, causing them to clutch their head in agony. Meanwhile the warmth had increased to a fiery inferno, burning their chest, charring their mind, searing their soul. The human cried out, feeling their consciousness leave them as their vision clouded over and they passed out, slumped over in a pile of dust.


End file.
